11/15/12

Hi Mack. I really enjoy the your writing especially when you write about the minor leaguers. Question: Cam Maron What have you heard about him? Is he a Thole type hitter or can he develop to be a better hitter? Also how's his defense? ThanksMackThanks for the question, Tony.I had the pleasure of watching Maron play this past season in Savannah and I can definitely tell you he is a much better hitter than Josh Thole. Thole taught himself to be a spray hitter while Maron is all gap. He has a beautiful swing.His Savannah stats were impressive: .300/.403/.408/.811, 5-HR, 47-RBI, 343-AB, 73-K, 53-BB. Defensively, he does everything fine except throwing the ball to second base. It is so bad, it was the lowest percentage of successful throws in the entire minor leagues last season. I'm sure he's working hard on strengthening his arm during this off season.Maron is a very intense young man and likes to keep away from the press which I respect.Right now, he's the top catching prospect in the system.It's obvious that he will catch St. Lucie in 2013 and, frankly, there is no one ahead of him in his way to Queens. Both Blake Forsythe and Francisco Pena have been a disappointment so far in their professional career, so, if he continues to hit as well as he did last year, his ETA could be as early as 2014. But, my guess is the Mets trade for someone for that position in the next 12 months, slow Cam down, and that would put him as a backup in 2015.